Ghost Wreck and Murdered Monkeys December 13, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : ModernA busy day today, but ran cross this ‘charming’ sea tale about a ghost wreck: we’ll get to the monkeys shortly. There is a book to be filled with supernatural stories at sea: perhaps it already exists. This deserves, in any case, to be jammed respectfully into a footnote somewhere. The British sailing ship Glooscap, […]
Daily History Picture: Sophia in the Garden December 12, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesKatharine Briggs: Some Thoughts December 12, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : ContemporaryAnyone who studies fairies, witches and the supernatural generally will have a simple series of thoughts about Katharine Briggs (1898-1980): gratitude for keeping the Folklore Society going over a rocky couple of decades; love of her marvelous books, including one of the great fairy novels; and an affection for that brooding severe child of Victorian […]
Mermaid Monday: Mermaid Baby Found December 11, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : ModernWe are in Orkney 1898. The people of Staxigoe, a village about two miles from Wick, were much excited on Saturday when they discovered that a mermaid had been washed ashore. The head was wanting, but what remained left no doubt in the good folks’ minds that a genuine mermaid lay stretched before them. Body […]
Daily History Picture: Owl and War December 11, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesLobasha, A Psychic Boy Detective December 10, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : ModernHad something stolen? A close friend has been murdered? Or has there been a kidnapping in the family? Help unfortunately is not at hand. The FBI are busy with the Patriot Act, the A Team are lost in the Los Angeles Underground and Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin is regrettably fictional. However, do not despair for […]
Victorian Urban Legend: Lady Vanishes December 9, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : ModernThis is a well known urban legend, but what is of great interest here is the documented splash it made in the UK and particularly at English dinner parties. We are in 1913 so not really Victorian England, but surely the content justifies its inclusion in the series? The tale, at least this variant of […]
Daily History Picture: Stonehenge December 8, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesDaily History Picture: Tattooing 1940s December 7, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesDaily History Picture: Heavy Seas December 6, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesUrban Legend: An Experiment in Transmission December 6, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : ActualiteHow do urban legends spread and how quickly? The following is a suggestion for an experiment involving the creation and propagation of a new urban legend. First phase: a team creates a credible story and each member changes details but not narratives. Second phase: they, then, on a given day, release the story on an […]
Daily History Picture: Two Worlds Meet December 5, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesThe Rise of the Vegan Fairies December 5, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Contemporary, Medieval, ModernOn this site we have frequently examined how fairies have changed through the generations. For example, the way that fairy wings have gone from being a minority convention in art to being practically de rigueur for the fay; or the way that the size of fairies has changed. However, these are superficial baubles in the […]
Daily History Picture: Fist Cup December 4, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical PicturesMermaid Monday: A Mad Mermaid? December 4, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : ModernNice mermaid story from 1886 (anon). A young man comes across a mermaid in Aberdeen harbour. Interestingly the experience ended in a police court. The latest ‘mermaid’ story is a local one. It evolved itself in the Aberdeen Police Court on Monday this wise: About seven o’clock Sunday a young son of the sea who […]